Nepal to check anti-India elements

Both countries okay revised treaty of trade
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 22
Even as the increasing activities of Pakistan’s ISI in the Himalayan nation has remained a cause of worry for New Delhi, Nepal has sought to reassure India that it would not allow the misuse of its territory for anti-India activities.
The two countries, meanwhile, completed negotiations and initialled the revised treaty of trade and an agreement on cooperation to control unauthorised trade from a third country. Both the trade treaty and the agreement to control unauthorised trade would be formally signed later. The two agreements have been under discussion for over two years and would be replacing agreements inked in 1991 and 1996.
India and Nepal agreed to consider steps to further facilitate cross-border arrangements in order to resolve border-related issues and to assist local populations in the border areas on both sides. The two sides also stressed on the need for strengthening the legal framework in order to counter their common cross-border security challenges.
These announcements were made in a joint statement issued by the two countries at the end of a five-day visit to India by Nepal Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
The joint statement said the two Prime Ministers directed their Foreign Secretaries to discuss and review the 1950 Friendship Treaty and other bilateral agreements to further strengthen ties between the two countries.
To accelerate implementation of Pancheshwar Multi-purpose Project, the two Prime Ministers also directed the Joint Ministerial Commission on Water Resources and Joint Committee on Water Resources to expedite the finalisation of terms of reference for Pancheshwar Development Authority and the detailed project report of the Pancheshwar Project.
The two sides agreed that enhancing bilateral trade was a priority and that the Inter Governmental Committee (IGC) at the level of Commerce Secretaries should look into the relevant issues for promoting trade, investments and industrialisation in Nepal, expanding bilateral trade on a sustainable basis and further removing barriers to trade and investment. The two Prime Ministers directed that the IGC should meet within the next two months. To facilitate Nepal’s foreign trade, India agreed to the utilisation of its port at Vishakhapatnam for movement of transit traffic to and from Nepal.